“California Forever,” the Billionaire-Backed City No One Asked For

RFK Jr.’s Bad Beliefs • Florida’s Antiabortion Backlash • Hicks’s Hopeful Testimony [View in your browser]( | [Update your preferences](newsletter=vf) [Vanity Fair Hive logo image]( “California Forever,” the Billionaire-Backed City No One Asked For Good morning from the Hive newsroom. Ever played SimCity? Well, Jan Sramek is essentially living it. Since 2017, he’s been quietly gobbling up land for California Forever, a proposed city in Solano County, where residents were roiled after the plan’s rocky unveiling last year. To this day, Sramek argues that the city will be responsibly built—and deliver a “big solution” to the state’s housing crisis. But Jon Skolnik has more than a few doubts: “It’s unnerving,” he [writes](, “that a coterie of tech billionaires, whose business escapades have contributed to California’s housing crisis, would now consider themselves uniquely qualified to fix it.” Elsewhere, Eric Lutz [pillories]( RFK Jr.’s “profoundly ridiculous” suggestion that Joe Biden is a greater threat to democracy than Donald Trump, who sought to overturn an election. Plus, Bess Levin [opines]( on why Florida’s six-week abortion ban could backfire in a big way for Republicans come November. Thanks for reading. [Image may contain: Accessories, Jewelry, Adult, Person, Face, Head, Outdoors, Windmill, and Crown]( [“California Forever,” the Billionaire-Backed City No One Asked For]( By [Jon Skolnik]( [Jan Sramek wants to “deliver a big solution” to the state’s housing crisis by building a new town from scratch. He may have considered every detail, but that doesn’t mean he’s been very considerate.]( [Read more button](   [RFK Jr.: Biden Is More of a Threat to Democracy Than Guy Who Tried to Overthrow Election]( By [Eric Lutz]( [The potential 2024 spoiler acknowledged Trump’s insurrection was “appalling.” But it was nothing, Kennedy suggested, compared with having his Instagram account suspended over vaccine conspiracy theories.]( [Read more button](   [Florida’s 6-Week Abortion Ban Could Screw Republicans in November]( By [Bess Levin]( [“Florida is in play.”]( [Read more button](   [Hope Hicks Expected to Tell a Jury Everything She Knows About Trump’s Hush Money Deal: Report]( By [Bess Levin]( [The former Trump adviser was his campaign press secretary at the time of the Stormy Daniels payment.]( [Read more button](   [Jon Stewart Takes Aim at His Former Apple Bosses on The Daily Show]( By [Savannah Walsh]( [“I wanted to have you on a podcast, and Apple asked us not to do it,” Stewart told his guest, Federal Trade Commission chair Lina Khan, Monday night. “They literally said, ‘Please don’t talk to her.’”]( [Read more button](   Get on the list Subscribe to our Hollywood newsletter for your essential industry and awards-season news, every day. [Sign Up Now](   [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Instagram]( [LinkedIn](   This e-mail was sent to you by The Hive. To ensure delivery to your inbox (not bulk or junk folders), please add our e-mail address, vanityfair@newsletter.vf.com, to your address book. View our [Privacy Policy]( [Unsubscribe]( Sent from Condé Nast, 1 World Trade Center, New York, NY 10007 Copyright © 2024 Condé Nast